Hudson
Hudson is a gargoyle, Goliath's mentor, founding member of the Manhattan Clan and the former leader of the Wyvern Clan. History He was clan leader in 975 A.D. when he helped a Goliath from a future timeline aid his younger self and a young Demona to protect them from their future. He also protected Demona from the Archmage's wrath. His leadership of the Wyvern Clan continued until 984 A.D. Prince Malcolm had been poisoned as the result of a dart from the Archmage, and Hudson, blaming himself for the incident, vowed to find the Grimorum Arcanorum for the antidote. Taking a young Goliath and Demona with him, they battled the Archmage for the book, in which Hudson lost his left eye and the Archmage seemingly fell to his death. The Prince recovered, but Hudson felt it was time to choose a new leader, and did so with Goliath. He became Goliath's mentor. '' In 994 A.D. Hudson was with Goliath when they left in search of the Vikings that had attacked the night before. They were both tricked by a diversion and were unable to get back to the castle in time to prevent a massacre during daylight. The next night they flew low over the castle in horror, witness to the aftermath of the massacre. Hudson determined that betrayal had led to their clan's slaughter, and accompanied Goliath and the Trio to the camp of the Vikings, beating back the barbarians with a vengeance. When the rout was complete and they looked around for Princess Katharine, the Magus, wild-eyed with grief over her apparent death, turned Hudson, the Trio and Bronx into stone with a spell. Goliath set him atop the battlements of Castle Wyvern, where he would remain for a thousand years. In 1994 A.D. the spell was broken when David Xanatos moved the castle to the top of his tower above the clouds. Hudson had the most difficult time of all the gargoyles adjusting to the new world, saying at one point it was "too big, too bright, too loud!" Hudson and Goliath were set upon by Demona some time later as they sought an antidote for Elisa Maza, the situation akin to the poisoning of the Prince a thousand years ago. Hudson had feared he had become soft and useless to his clan, but the victory over Demona assured him he still had a place among them. During an incident with MacBeth, Hudson met the blind human, Jeffrey Robbins, who taught him to read and in whom he found a wise companion and good friend. He was captured once by David Xanatos, to be used as an experiment to test the Cauldron of Life. The reason why Xanatos used him was due to his being old, and "useless" to his clan. Hudson proved him wrong by being cunning and resourceful, and escaping, offering Xanatos a word of advice that "true immortality isn't about living forever. It's what you do with the time you have." Once again he had proved to himself he was still able to hold his own with the rest of his clan. During Goliath's absence, he tutored Brooklyn subtlety in the ways of leadership, and settled for Cagney as a surrogate companion in the place of Bronx. He was truly overjoyed at the discovery of Angela and the revelation that there were other gargoyles around the world. He had feared they were really the last of their kind. Declining Fox' offer to attend the party thrown at the Eyrie Building,Invitation Only he and Bronx spent Halloween with his friend Jeffrey Robbins, who confronted Hudson about his true nature. Hudson admitted to him that he was a gargoyle, which Robbins accepted with ease.Bash About a month later, Macbeth approached the Manhattan clan, asking for help transferring the Stone of Destiny from England to Scotland. Hudson and Lexington joined Macbeth in England, where they met up with King Arthur, and the London Clan who were also protecting the Stone.The Rock Coldsteel, under Xanatos' command, attacked Hudson, very nearly dismembering him. Hudson was rescued by the timely intervention of Coldstone and Coldfire.Rock & Roll Abilities Although age has done a great toll on his physical attributes, he makes up for it with his wisdom gathered through years of experience which makes him a valued member to his clan. Goliath Chronicles In the Goliath Chronicles, Hudson nearly went totally blind when his other eye contracted glaucoma, but was saved by swift surgery in the face of Quarrymen threatening him and Jeffrey Robbins. Future Tense By the time Goliath arrived in Puck's "Future Tense" illusion, Hudson was already dead, and a life-sized bronze statue had been built as a memorial. He had perished years ago in single combat with Xanatos, although unbeknownst to all but Lexington, he managed to take Xanatos with him. Characteristics The gargoyle that would later be known as Hudson was a former leader of the Wyvern Clan and friend to both Prince Malcolm, Wyvern's original human governor and Katherine's father, and the Captain of the Guard. Having retired after being blinded in the left eye battling the Archmage, the elder gargoyle (who was around 100 years old at the time) gave the leadership of the clan to his current second-in-command, Goliath. He nevertheless remained a fierce warrior, cunning strategist, and unparalleled tracker. Goliath often relied on his counsel and his experience. They were the only two gargoyles that left the castle to track the Vikings, and were thus absent during the raid that destroyed much of the rest of the clan. Having been awoken in the present day, Hudson was the first of the then-nameless clan members to pick a name for himself, after the Hudson River. He befriended the blind author Jeffrey Robbins, who could accept him as a person without being aware by his being non-human (though he later revealed to Hudson he had figured out he was a gargoyle "by his Scottish accent, visits only during the night, and his smell of old leather and concrete"), and who taught him how to read. Hudson is the oldest and wisest of all the gargoyles. With the addition of the Thousand year sleep he is over 1100 years of age. He is always ready with a wise saying or cutting remark. While he served as Goliath's Mentor in the past , the two share a mutual respect for one another, which often hints at Hudson's love for Goliath as his would be son. Hudson serves as a Grandfather figure for the trio. He carries an ancient sword, and Bronx is his loyal companion, whether in battle, or sitting in front of the television watching Celebrity Hockey.Hudson possesses all the abilities of gargoyles- wings that enable him to glide, a prehensile tail, and claws and talons that can tear through solid steel. He has decades of battle experience, and is very cunning and tough when fighting. His main weakness is age, and can be a bit overwhelmed by modern ways and technology. Hudson often feels his age, and many times is relegated to watching television and guarding the clan's homestead while others are on patrols. Nevertheless he remains a proud warrior, ready to answer any challenge. Hudson is also the only gargoyle of the clan who regularly uses a weapon (a short sword), which he began using sometime after losing an eye. He was also the clan's second in command until he insisted Goliath pass it down to a younger member of the clan. Despite his clear gargoyle heritage and pride, Hudson does not enjoy gallivanting about on wild adventures, as he much prefers to remain home in an old recliner and watch television, particularly, Celebrity Hockey. Greg Weisman explained that "Hudson hates spunk." Ironically, Hudson was the first member of the Wyvern Clan to take on a name in the 20th century, although he considered the concept of names nothing more than a peculiar human custom. He named himself after the Hudson River, after Elisa cited it to him as an example of how even geographical features have names. Appearance Hudson is a portly old gargoyle, with tan-colored skin, ruddy orange wings, and white hair and beard. His most distinguishing feature, beyond these, is his blind left eye. He has three small horns on each side of his forehead. He wears a tough leather jerkin and trousers in addition to the loincloth more typical of his clan, and carries a sword. Hudson uses the sword because he feels that, with his strength failing as he ages, he needs some sort of human weapon to help even things out for him.Alone of the Manhattan Clan, he speaks with a Scottish accent, because he had the most contact of all the gargoyles with Scottish humans. Notes * In future stories, it would have been said he was the biological father of Broadway, though during the show's run neither of them was explicitly aware of this fact. It may have been a moot point, given the cultural attitude of 'collective family' most gargoyle clans seem to hold. * Neither Hudson, nor Broadway, could read prior to A Lighthouse in the Sea of Time. ** They began making efforts to do so at the end of the same episode, and are seen to be capable of it in later episodes. * Hudson evolved from a character in the comedy development called "Ralph". Ralph was often the oldest gargoyle in the cast and much preferred staying at home with the TV and other comforts of modern living to actually going out. When he was moved into the action-drama pitch, other names considered for him included "Rolf" and "Rock". Appearances References Category:Characters Category:Gargoyles Category:Male gargoyles Category:Clan leaders Category:Wyvern Clan Category:Manhattan Clan